Life through a Kaleidoscope
by ArashinoKasei
Summary: Reality is an illusion."


Ummm...i'm a novice here, so please, no machine guns just yet. All peaceful suggestions are welcomed though.

And no, i do NOT own Naruto, but my friend thinks he does, so i'm sure we can share...

**Life through a Kaleidoscope**

His eyes were pale, as if the suffering stored in them for so long had drained away, like so much black ink. He was almost smiling. She trailed her fingers across his serene rain-soaked visage, and tried hard to stem her flowing tears. She could hear Madara and Sasuke in the next room, Sasuke's voice weakening as waves of understanding washed over him.

"I really can't let you stay much longer" Kisame was getting restless. "I'm not sure Mizukage-sama would approve." "Just a few more minutes, Kisame, I..." He nodded and left again.

0o0

_"Hey! Sensei said we should practice shuriken throws! You can't just lie there and stare at the sky, Itachi-kun! Get up and practice!"_

"_Sensei said we could stop if we hit all the targets." He said without even looking at her._

_She looked closer at the targets set up. Each of them had a shuriken embedded in it, dead centre. She looked back at Itachi's wide grin._

"_Hey, Uchiha!" A brown-haired boy was running towards them." How about you get those shuriken out so we can try?" He called, his eyes sparkling with mischief as he skidded to a halt. _

"_And say he hasn't practiced! Don't you dare, Kaoru-kun!"She turned on him._

_His smile wilted a bit. "Hey, whose side are you on? First you yell at him, and now it's my fault! Women, eh, Uchiha?"_

"_Hn." The boys turned back to her, smirking._

"_I … just don't want either of you in trouble. Why won't you guys practice?" She snapped, defensively._

_Itachi directed his eyes back up at the sky with a smile._

0o0

In the next room, she could sense the waves of painful understanding wash over Sasuke. She blinked to stop a tear. What the boy must have gone through was probably beyond her imagination.

0o0

"_Katsumi-san! Katsumi-san! Sasuke learnt my name!!"_

_He had obviously been giving his baby brother a piggy-back ride. Now however, he was running towards her, little Sasuke hanging on for dear life as he was jolted around on Itachi's back, tugging at the long hair to stop him._

'_Tachi-nii-san! Don't-!' Itachi stopped, concerned. _

"_I'm your brother, Sasuke. I'll never let you fall." Sasuke smiled, reassured._

0o0

It wasn't long before Kisame shooed her out. She looked into the next room as they sneaked past. The sight of Sasuke's normally impassive face contorted in painful shock, wrenched at her heart. Damn Uchihas, she thought. If only they weren't too proud to share their feelings…to open their hearts…

0o0

"_The ANBU's really piling up a lot of work on you, ne, Itachi? We haven't seen you around here for ages."_

"_Yes. Chotto isogashii deshita." (I've been a bit busy.)_

_He sat quietly in a corner, sipping his tea. He didn't even look up as she approached, but moved over to make space for her. She sat for a while, mustering the courage to initiate a conversation._

"_Itachi, is something wrong?"_

"_No. I'm just tired, that's all. "_

"_Itachi? I heard about Shisui-san, and what happened at your place."_

"_I'm only sorry Sasuke had to see it..."_

_She got up from the table. Itachi set his tea down and rose as well. _

"_I'm leaving, too. I promised to help Sasuke with his homework. I'll walk you home."_

_A bunch of tipsy men stumbled past."If we find that Itachi alone here, we should beat the hell out of him, ANBU or no ANBU. Taichou has been making excuses for too long."_

_She laid a hand on his arm to restrain him. He was trembling in anger, and she saw his eyes blaze red. She was used to seeing his Sharingan, but something was different._

"_Itachi?" his eyes shimmered back to black._

0o0

Whoever named it Mangekyou Sharingan, probably knew what they had to go through for it. Their eyes really were like a kaleidoscope, the shards of a million emotions reflected in black waves of pain.

0o0

_That day, by the river…_

_She could see from afar that he was in deep thought. So engrossed, that he had not noticed the solid grey bank of clouds approaching. She went up to him, and wordlessly yanked him under the roof of a nearby building. And she proceeded to wrest his innermost thoughts from his grasp. She knew something was seriously wrong, she simply couldn't imagine what terrible thing had sapped the sparkle in his onyx eyes. He asked her the question that had been eating away at him, and she stood dumbfounded. Then he did something unexpected. He stepped out into the rain. She followed him silently, waiting for him to regain his composure. Their tears flowed with the rain, and soaked down their clothes._

"_I have to go now, Katsumi. I have…a lot of thinking to do."_

"_Do what you think is best."_

_What do you do when you have to make a choice that will result in tears no matter which one you choose? Neither knew the answer._

_She tucked his wet hair behind his ear. She even dredged up a half-smile. Itachi simply looked at her with those unfathomable eyes. Then he was gone._

0o0

"Kaoru? You'll be all right. Everything will be all right." She was crying now, rubbing his ice-cold hands to warm them. "Please Kaoru…"

"Katsumi? We need to take care of Sasuke. We can't let him grow up to be a monster like…like him."

Her breath caught in her throat. Even his name was taboo now. Still, she couldn't face the fact that he was evil. Even though he hurt Kaoru so much…

0o0

"_I did it for Sasuke. Now I hope he'll be fine. You too, Katsumi. I trust you."_

"_Are you sure about this? Isn't there any other way?"_

"_Better die as a shinobi in battle than by illness, ne? I don't have long anyway. Besides, who better to end my life than Sasuke? I ruined his life, now he can end mine. It's the least I can do."_

_He doubled over, coughing. When he sat up again, wincing in pain, there was a trickle of blood through his clenched teeth. She pulled out her handkerchief and dabbed at his lip. He smiled. "So girls actually use these things, huh?" She couldn't smile back. They stood still, looking at each other for probably the last time. _

"_You should leave now, Katsumi."_

_She turned and walked out of the Uchiha training centre, Itachi's face etched into her mind, unshed tears blurring her vision._

0o0

It was the end… the bitter end that they did not wish to think about, finally here, and Itachi wouldn't let her see any of it. To think he was still the same caring youth she had known all those years ago…

She didn't have to wait too long. Or maybe the time passed quickly because she was thinking about him?

"Katsumi-san, I suppose you already know it, but I thought I should tell you..."Kisame spoke up awkwardly.

Her shoulders slumped, but her eyes were dry and her voice steady as she asked to see him, one last time…

0o0

_She cursed inwardly for not expecting anyone to notice her. But it was too late now. She smiled as she saw the several kunai aimed at her. He probably wouldn't even need to use his Sharingan. Sasuke stood ready to strike again, not recognizing her tear-soaked face. Kisame winced as the kunai struck, each one a bull's-eye. She smiled Just like Itachi. Her vision blurred…_

0o0

"Katsumi-san! It's our first S-ranked mission tomorrow! Stop daydreaming and come on, let's find Kaoru-kun! "

Itachi was tugging at her arm, eyes sparkling with excitement. Sasuke waved happily from the ramen shop where he was eating with a pink-haired kunoichi and a blond blue-eyed kid whose name she vaguely remembered.

Was it a dream? Or déjà vu? But she had seen something, something real.

"Katsumi-san?" Itachi's eyes were concerned. "Are you all right? You look pale."

"No, I just…"

"You must be hungry! Let me buy you some ramen."

Ah well, who can say no to Ichiraku ramen anyway?

She forced a smile, and followed the black-haired boy. Suddenly everything blurred again, only Itachi's grip on her arm still remained. She looked up at the youth, not missing the knowing smile.

"Is this real, Itachi?"

His smile widened.

"Reality is based on our perception, Katsumi. What we see here is real to someone. And it is a reality I do not care to change."

With lightened hearts, they tucked into their bowls of ramen, and their carefree laughter joined that of Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto.

* * *

OKAY i hope you liked it. Please do review...Arigatou!


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